


Worlds Collide

by Warren_Pace



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Aliens, Being shot at is traumatic, Cross-Posted on Wattpad, F/M, M/M, Scott McCall & Stiles Stilinski Friendship, Stiles is allowed to process his inevitable trauma
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-21
Updated: 2021-01-21
Packaged: 2021-03-12 13:08:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 15,560
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28885881
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Warren_Pace/pseuds/Warren_Pace
Summary: Cassie Narm's life has never been normal, but when your parents are refugees from another planet that tends to happen. For as long as she can remember, her parents have been running, from an enemy, she knows nothing about but fears nonetheless. She lived in 10 places before they finally settled in Beacon Hills, they've been there for years now and Cassie loves what normalcy she can get. But, when an alpha bites her best friend, normal goes out the window. Toss in a hunting family that knows more than they should about otherworldly visitors and budding romances between old friends. Beacon Hills will never be the same.Disclaimer: I will be doing many of the seasons from memory and will be purposely changing up many lines so if the lines are different from the show, it is intentional. Do not leave a bunch of angry comments. Please and thank you :)[Season 1]
Relationships: Allison Argent/Scott McCall, Lydia Martin/Stiles Stilinski, Scott McCall/Original Female Character(s)





	1. Why am I in the woods looking for a dead body? ~ (1.01)

Cassie Narm became friends with Stiles and Scott back in 2th grade, when she was new to town. She gravitated towards them because they went unnoticed by most people and the easiest way to hide was to stay in the fringes with two of the most normal boys in town. So how was it that she came to be trapsing through the woods at 1AM looking for a dead body with them. Correction: _half_ of a dead body.

_She heard Scott and Stiles approaching the house long before Stiles climbed the tree near her window and knocked softly. The soft knock was no use her parents would've heard Stiles climb the tree even if they hadn't heard the knock. She would have to explain in the morning but for now she knew they'd let her have her fun. She pretended to jolt awake and look at window in sleep deprived annoyance, which wasn't wasn't hard, she was sleep deprived, and annoyed. She had actually been sleeping before Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum decided to wake her._

_She padded over to the window in her rabbit slippers, she slid it up as quietly as she could, wincing slightly as it squeaked._

_"What the hell are you doing here, Stilinksi?! It's 1 in the morning!" She whisper yelled._

_"C'mon, Cas. Don't be mad this time. I promise it'll be fun."_

_"Oh really." She quirked an eyebrow. "Like in middle school when you convinced Scott and I to go dumpster diving because you thought the cafeteria was serving people meat? Or when you decided that three 4th graders could definitely build a structurally sound tree house? Scott was in a cast for months, and I got grounded till puberty!"_

_"Aw come on, Cas. Don't be such a downer." The brown haired boy quivered with excitement. "I'll explain on the way. Scott's waiting in Roscoe, and it's cold. So hurry up."_

_Stiles was clambering down the tree before she could formulate a response. Cassie groaned, she was tempted to lock the window and go back to sleep, but she'd never hear the end of it at school tomorrow if she just up and ditched them. Groaning, she quickly slipped sweats on over her booty shorts and slipped into a pair of flats, lastly she grabbed a jacket that hung over her desk chair. She didn't need the jacket but it would be weird if she didn't wear one on a night this cold. All in all she was shimmying down the tree only a few minutes after Stiles._

_Stiles was ready to burst by the time she reached the jeep._

_"A dead body, Cas. A real life dead body. Well half a dead body, but same thing really. All these years, and finally something interesting happens." Stiles kept glancing eagerly at her and Scott as though he could share his excitement via osmosis. She met Scott's glance and they rolled their eyes in sync, both used to Stiles' overeager nature._

_But then a darker note overshadowed her current thoughts. What if this was just the beginning? If too many weird things ended up putting Beacon Hills on the map her family would have to move again. She remembered how hard it had been to convince them to stay after the Hale fire, her mother had been frantic, packing bags and checking house listings in Florida. It had taken the combined efforts of her and her father to convince her mother that the Hale fire wouldn't draw enough attention for them to be found. Please don't let anything else weird happen in Beacon Hills. Then she scoffed under her breath, it's Beacon Hills nothing happens here, often._

_An instinct though told her that the body was just the beginning of a long and dangerous_ _game._

A slamming car door shook her from her thoughts. Stiles and Scott had exited onto the preserve and were waiting impatiently for her. She quickly jumped out, closing the door behind her. She tried to shake off the worry that she might have to leave Beacon Hills. _Mom would move us to Maine if she knew what I was doing right now._

"You ok?" Scott threw her a worried glance as she continued to linger near the jeep. She nodded, no reason to alarm them. He turned to Stiles, "we're seriously doing this?"

Stiles shrugged, already moving further into the preserve. "You're the one who always bitches that nothing ever happens in this town!"

"I think I liked this town better when nothing happened in it, at least then I was able to get some sleep." He grumbled under his breath so that only Cassie could hear. She snorted, and gently grabbed Scott's hand, not wanting to lose an asthmatic in the middle of a cold prairie at night. They trudged on together rather reluctantly following Stiles and his flashlight, as he moved on without hesitation. _The people like him are always the first to die in a horror movie._

"I need all the beauty sleep I can get, so what's your excuse for being pissy about being up at one in the morning?" She leant her head on his shoulder tiredness sweeping through her bones.

"Wouldn't anyone be pissy to be woken up at 1AM?" She laughed, lack of sleep tended to make her bubbly. "I was trying to get a good night sleep before practice tomorrow."

"Right," Stiles called back over his shoulder, "because, sitting on a bench is such hard work."

"Don't listen to Ms. Pessimism over there. I know you'll make first line this year." She squeezed his hand gently. "It's him who hasn't practiced all summer," she added in a lower tone. Scott laughed.

"I take offense at that. D&D is a very physical sport, do you know how many brain muscles i exercise in one round?" Stiles, butted into the conversation as he dropped back a little to walk closer to them.

"Well to exercise brain muscles you'd actually have to have them." She stuck her tongue out at Stiles. _Would it kill him to be just a little bit more supportive of Scott?_ A sudden thought crossed her mind. "Hey Stiles, just out of curiosity, which part of the body are we looking for?"

"Uh." Stiles rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly, "I didn't exactly listen to the call long enough to find out."

She groaned. _Of course. He cares enough to listen to his dad's phone calls about bodies in the woods but can't spend five more seconds to find out which half of the body is missing._

Scott seemed to be catching her train of thought because he said, "and what if the killer is still out here? I can't die before I make first line."

"Uhhh." Stiles flushed a little the holes in his plan growing clearer to himself as well.

The ground sloped upward sharply and they trudged up the hill. Scott began wheezing slightly. She supported him as he grabbed his inhaler out his pocket. Rubbing his back comfortingly, "it's nice to know that you planned this with your usual attention to detail."

"What can I say. I'm a doer and a thinker, but I can't do both at the same time." Cassie nearly smacked herself in the face, _why am I friends with this idiot?_

"Maybe the severe asthmatic should be the one holding the flashlight, huh?" Scott called to Stiles as he caught his breath. But Cassie's attention wasn't on them anymore, she could hear footsteps in the distance, someone was coming this way. As they got closer she could make out voices, dogs, the sheriff. _Oh crap._

"Get down." She hissed to Scott and Stiles, Scott dropped to the forest floor still taking long breaths from his inhaler, but Stiles _the stupid idiot_ was blundering off directly towards the voices. She ran after him intent on pulling him behind a tree before he was spotted, but she miscalculated his speed. She crash right into Stiles and they ended up in a tangled pile of limbs at Sheriff Stilinski's feet. _Oh crap_. _This is how I die._

A flashlight shone in their faces as the sheriff identified them.

"Hey, Dad." Stiles said sheepishly, "come here often?"

Sheriff Stilinski sighed. "Stiles. Cassie. Do I even want to know why you're here? And where's Scott? Is he here too? Scott?" The sheriff shone his flashlight into the trees around them. Cassie could could Scott's panicked breathing, but thankfully he stayed hidden. They didn't all need to get in trouble tonight.

"No. No." Stiles answered, eager to protect their best friend. "Scotts at home, sleeping. Big day tomorrow, you know? We're just out for a walk, alone, in the woods, at night. Needed some fresh air."

Cassie had to keep from groaning aloud, a three year old could come up with a better excuse than that. Sheriff Stilinski seemed to accept it though, or maybe he just didn't want to believe that his son was stupid enough to go looking for a dead body in the middle of the night.

"Now," said the sheriff, as he dragged Stiles and Cassie towards the edge of the preserve. "I'm gonna walk you back to your car, and we're gonna have a discussion about something called violation of privacy."

A growl sounded, too faint for Stiles or his dad to hear. Cassie cast one last look back at the preserve, _please don't get murdered tonight, Scott_.


	2. My best friend is definitely a werewolf ~ (1.01)

Cassie was anxious to get to school the next morning and make sure Scott was alright. She dressed quickly and ran downstairs, hopeful to avoid awkward questions. But parents seem to have a sixth sense for when their kids are trying to sneak out and her dad was waiting at the bottom of the stairs, and he didn't look very happy.

He did his best to keep his voice at a whisper, hoping that her mom wouldn't hear them. "You're lucky that your mother is a deep sleeper, and didn't hear you climbing out your window in the middle of the night. What the heck where you thinking? They found a body last night. If this town lights up like it did with the Hale fire, we're going to have to move, again."

"I know, I know. He's after us, but we're stronger than we've ever been. Would it really be so bad if he found us now?" _I'm tired of running._ "We can't run forever, dad."

Her father sighed. They'd had this same fight for years. "You don't know him like we do, we can a lot of things others can't, but he can do more. More than anyone should be able to." He paused, clearly not wanting to escalate the argument further. "I'm going to be home late tonight, Dr. Draile is out sick today and they asked me to cover his night shift. Your mom is going on a trip for a few days, thankfully she's not too freaked out cause she hasn't heard about the body in the woods yet. If you need anything call Melissa, she's off tonight."

"Ok." She smiled tiredly, "I know that you're trying, it's just frustrating because I know that we could be doing so much more. I'm tired of being afraid."

"I know." He embraced her gently, "now lets get out of here before your mom comes downstairs and yells at us both."

Cassie laughed, a little more subdued than usual, but still a laugh and it felt good. "Ok"

The drive to the high school seemed to go by in a flash. She was worried about Scott, she'd spent nearly an hour debating with herself whether or not to go back out and look for Scott, eventually she'd decided that it must've been a normal wolf, it had to be. Still, she couldn't completely banish her worries, even though they were social pariahs at the best of times, Scott and Stiles still managed to attract more danger than anyone she'd ever met.

"Bye, dad." She waved as she jumped out of the car quickly and made her way towards Scott and Stiles.

"Dude, let me see." Stiles was motioning impatiently at Scott's shirt.

"Unless Scott's has a stripper career that I don't know about, I'm gonna need more context than that." Cassie said, inserting herself between the two. She was only mildly bewildered by what she'd heard, it was no where near the oddest thing she'd heard Stiles say.

Stiles answered impatiently, clearly anxious to see whatever was under Scott's shirt. "Little Scotty here, claims to have a huge freaking bite in his stomach. But I say pics or—"

"What!" Cassie exclaimed looking to Scott anxiously, _it couldn't be_. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah. I'm fine." His eyes met hers quickly, trying to alleviate her panic. "Stiles is exaggerating."

"Let me see." She stated emphatically, holding his gaze.

Scott lifted his shirt reluctantly, "I told you it's not that bad."

_No. No. NO. It has to be a coincidence, normal wolf bites look the same as werewolf bites, right?_

"Cassie, you ok? You seem a little spacey." Scott was looking at her curiously.

 _Don't be weird._ "Yeah, fine... Just didn't get much sleep last night." She sent a halfhearted glare at Stiles, curse him and his stupid ideas. If she was right this stupid idea was going to have much bigger consequences than a couple weeks grounding or a detention.

"Seriously though, this is awesome." Stiles barreled on, oblivious as usual to his friends' unease. "First a body, now this, at least something interesting it finally happening in this town."

"What do you think bit you?" Cassie tried to ignore the dread growing in the pit of her stomach.

"It was dark but I think," _don't say it,_ "it was a wolf." _Scott..._

 _Don't freak out._ "That's weird. I thought there hadn't been wolves in California for a long time."

"Yeah." Stiles agreed vehemently, "it's been like 60 years since there was a wolf sighting."

"Well, if you two don't believe I saw a wolf than you won't believe I found the other half of the body." Scott said with a hint of a smile.

"Dude. Really?! That's amazing." Stiles might as well have been jumping up and down. This boy was way too excited by a murder. "The only thing better than that is Lydia Martin." Stiles attempted to say suavely as a certain redhead passed by, "h-hey, Lydia."

As usual she walked by without sparing in glance in his direction. Stiles brushed it off, but she knew it had to hurt. She clapped him on the shoulder gently, "better luck next time, buddy."

He glanced at her gratefully, a small smile tugging at his cheeks. "Thanks," he said softly, before turning to Scott. "This is your fault, both of you." He pointed an accusatory finger at her and Scott, "I'm a nerd by association."

Cassie laughed, and for a moment everything felt normal. Just for a moment she wasn't worried about her entire life in Beacon Hills being uprooted because of some stupid midnight adventure in the woods. She threw an arm around each boy, "well then, nerds. We'd better get inside, don't want to be late on the first day. Scott's enough of a problem child as it is."

"Hey," Scott was quick to defend himself. "Every time I've gotten in trouble has been entirely Stiles' fault."

"Hey!" Stiles replied indignantly. They all laughed.

Their first class passed uneventfully, and it was easy to pretend there wasn't a weight on her shoulders. The second class made it harder to ignore. Their teacher was droning on incessantly about the syllabus and talking about a body in the woods like it was nothing. Teachers really don't feel anything. Scott glanced out the window, something evidently having caught his attention. Sure enough there was a cute girl sitting on a bench in front of the school. Cassie nearly rolled her eyes. _Boys_ , she thought exasperatedly.

The girl's voice drifted towards Cassie's sensitive ears. "Mom, three calls for my first day is a little over-doing it..." She said into her cellphone, exasperation clear in her tone as she rummaged through her bag. "Everything execpt a pen, oh my god did I actually forgot a pen!" She closed her bag with a sigh as the vice principal walked up to her. "Okay okay, I gotta go, love you..."

Cassie glanced back at Scott who had been watching the girl intently. This time she did roll her eyes, but a nagging doubt tugged at her. He seemed like he could hear what the girl had been saying. She tried to ignore her doubts, Scott was just staring at the pretty girl. For some reason that didn't alleviate her doubts.

Not two minutes later the girl walked into their class. _Oh great, now Scott can spend the entire period staring at a girl._ She shared a half-exasperated half-amused glance with Stiles. "Class, this is Allison Argent." The V.P. introduced her. _Argent? Could she be? No. There has to be more than one family named Argent, but in Beacon Hills? Can it really be a coincidence?_ Cassie shook her thoughts away, today was going to be normal through sheer force of will. If she let things spiral out of control the next step would be her parents packing bags and flying out to the furthest reaches of Canada.

Allison walked forward, taking the seat behind Scott, and next to Cassie. Scott turned towards her, a faint blush on his cheeks, and handed her a pen.

_Why did you have to drag us into the woods Stiles?_

The rest of the day passed by rather uneventfully, the most interesting thing that happened was Scott doing some light stalking/eavesdropping on the new girl. She managed to stem her oncoming panic by promising herself that she'd get answers after school. The last bell seemed to ring out of nowhere. Cassie walked down to the lacrosse field by herself. Scott and Stiles had to go to the locker room first. Normally, she'd wait for them, but today she needed a moment to clear her head.

The bleachers were relatively full, back to school hype always pulled a decent crowd. She waved to a few kids as she sat down, including Danny who had just emerged from the locker room. She was so lost in thought that she didn't noticed Lydia and Allison sitting behind her until Allison tapped her on the shoulder.

"You're Cassie, right?"

"Yeah," Cassie answered cautiously, she wasn't sure how much the Argents knew of her family, but she still wanted to keep off their radar.

"You're in my English class." Cassie resisted the urge to sigh.

"Yeah. That's me..." She chuckled slightly, hoping to diffuse an awkward situation. It didn't work _._ She tried a different tactic. "So, how do you like Beacon High so far?"

"It's ok." Allison shrugged, "we probably won't be here very long, anyway." Cassie almost smiled at that, _good._ Less hunters in town the better. Cassie nodded noncommittally, before turning back to the field.

Scott and Stiles were on the bench as usual, but as she watched Coach Finstock walked over to the bench. He pressed a helmet to Scott's chest, "McCall, you're in goal."

Scott replied awkwardly, a little flustered, "but I've never played goal before."

Coach clapped him on the shoulder. "Exactly. It'll give the boys a confidence boost on their first day back."

"What about me?" Scott shifted uncomfortably.

"A few bruises won't kill you, McCall." Coach clapped him on the shoulder one last time.

Scott paled a little but never the less walked towards the goal with determination. Stiles just shook his head, she could practically hear the thoughts going through his head. _You're going to die._ She leaned forward in her seat anxiously, hopefully there wouldn't be any rampaging werewolves on this field today. Especially with an Argent in the stands.

The boys lined up one by one to take their shots on goal. Various people in the stands cheering as their respective friends took a shot, but Scott blocked everyone. Stiles leaped to his feet shouting, "that's my friend. That's my friend!"

Cassie smiled widely, knowing how important it was to Scott to do well this season. She cupped her hands around her mouth and yelled, "go, Scott. Yeah. Whoo, whoo." Underneath the helmet, Scott's eyes found hers and he smiled. More boys took shots on goal, and Scott blocked more and more shots. It seemed as though no one could get a ball passed him. Finally, it was Jackson's turn. _Oh boy,_ she thought to herself. _If something goes wrong it's going to be here._

The tension was palpable in the air. Jackson squared his shoulders and ran at Scott, attempting to bowl him over. But Scott stood his ground, appearing to catch Jackson's ball effortlessly. The people in the bleachers cheered, _it really was a good save. Too good._ Her gaze flicked between Scott and Stiles, _how do you boys always manage to stumble into the worst situations?_

 _Why now?_ Beacon Hills had been quiet since the Hale fire, six years of nothing, and now this. She couldn't think of any other wolf in town. _What are you up to, Derek?_ She was tempted to leave before practice was over, but Scott and Stiles would notice, and that would lead to questions that she wasn't ready to answer. _How do you tell your best friend that he's a werewolf?_

The rest of the practice went by very quickly, Scott didn't miss a single shot. Cassie met them on the field as soon as practice ended. "That was amazing, Scott."

"Thanks, Cas." He answered, pride shimmering in his eyes at what he'd done. She smiled.

"You did good too, Stiles." She added turning to her other best friend. "It takes skills to warm a bench that well."

"Yeah, yeah." Stiles swatted her away with a roll of his eyes. "You were good out there, Scotty boy. First line may not be a pipe dream after all."

Scott rolled his eyes. "Are you ever going to stop calling me that?"

"Nope." Stiles puffed out his chest proudly. "I've already come up with five ways to work it into my best man speech."

"Of course you have." Scott cringed half playfully.

The conversation ended abruptly as they reached the locker room. "See you in five." Cassie nodded. She walked around to the front of the school slowly, arriving at Stiles' blue Jeep only a few moments after the boys.

"So where are we headed?" Cassie glanced between Scott and Stiles.

Scott glanced at Stiles before answering, "back to the Preserve."

_Why do I let you drag me into these things?_

Beacon Hills' preserve was chilly. Leaves crunched with every step, and branches fluttered in bursts of wind. The whole scenario felt so similar and yet so different from the previous night. Stiles walked a little ahead of Scott and Cassie, leading the way forward like usual, but so much had changed in a night. Scott had changed.

Unsure how to broach the topic, she tried the first tactic that came to mind. "Scott, you seem different today." _Still the truth, just not all of it._ "How're you feeling?"

Scott shook his head. "I don't know. Something's off, I can feel it. It's like my senses are on overdrive. I can see things, hear things, smell things. Things that I shouldn't be able to."

Stiles, ever the curious one, couldn't resist a conundrum. "Things like what?"

"Like..." Scott sniffed experimentally. "I can smell the mint gum in your pocket. I can hear Cassie's heart beating."

"I don't have any..." Stiles fished around in his jacket pocket, finding a piece of mint gum, neatly wrapped in foil. Glancing at it oddly, he tossed it back into his pocket. "Hmm... So this all started with the bite?"

Scott nodded. Cassie could practically see the pieces falling into place in Stiles' head, but this had to be too ludicrous, even for him and his wild imagination. "What if I'm dying? Like everything in my body is just fritzing. And then...blegh."

"You know what, I think I have heard of this." Stiles began, in that overeager way that almost always signified mischief. "It's super bad, like crazy bad, but only once a month."

"What?!" Scott was clearly freaking out, maybe on the verge of an existential crisis. "What happens once a month? Is it fatal?"

"No." Stiles's eyes continued to glimmer with mischief. "They call it lycanthropy." Stiles spread his hands wide for emphasis.

"Is it serious?" Scott squeaked, growing paler.

"Only on the night of the full moon." Stiles howled.

Cassie smacked him on the back of the head. "This is serious, Stiles!" Her voice was louder than she'd intended, both Scott and Stiles looked at her a little oddly. She rarely raised her voice, but her panic was slipping through.

"Jeez, Cas. It was just a joke." He rubbed his head, wincing exaggeratedly. "You really pack a punch." He winced once more.

"Sorry." She glanced at Scott, and then Stiles, then back to Scott. "I'm just worried about Scott." Stiles nodded.

"I'm pretty sure I dropped my inhaler somewhere around _here._ " And just like that, the tension diffused. Scott walked forward to a patch of leaves. It had been dark last night and even with her advanced senses, she couldn't tell one batch of decaying leaves from the next. Scott crouched down and began rifling through the leaves. Cassie moved to help him when the sound of leaves crunched underfoot reached her ears, she saw Scott's head snap up.

"You're trespassing," an angry voice called out from behind them. "This is private property."

 _Derek._ She tried to keep her face neutral, and not punch Derek. She saw his eyes widen a fraction as he looked at her, they hadn't talked since before Laura died. This whole problem had something to do with him, there were no other wolves in town. Well, there was Peter, but he was in a coma.

Stiles in his infinite bravery shrunk away meekly, "we didn't know, dude."

"Yeah, we were just looking for something... The preserve is big, we must've wandered here by mistake. Forget it, we'll just go now." Scott said stepping up next to Stiles.

As Scott turned to go, Derek tossed something to him. He caught it with lightning-fast reflexes, and Derek quirked an eyebrow, his suspicions no doubt confirmed. Scott opened his hand, to reveal his inhaler.

"Uh, thanks." Scott looked up, but Derek had vanished. "That was weird."

Stiles smacked Scott on the arm eagerly a few times. "Dude, do you know who that was?!" Scott shrugged. Cassie didn't answer, she had no reason to know Derek Hale. "That was Derek Hale, his whole family died in a fire like six years ago."

Cassie glanced back and she could see Derek, standing just out of normal human eyesight, watching them.

"Didn't he move away after that? What's he doing back here?" Scott wondered aloud, glancing back just as Cassie had.

Stiles shrugged. He knew something didn't add up, but he didn't have all the facts. She had more, but they still didn't add up.

"I gotta get to the clinic, Deaton's expecting me soon."

Stiles dropped Scott off in record time—breaking even more traffic laws than usual. Stiles turned to her as they sat in the parking lot, engine idling, "where to now, my padawan?"

Cassie raised an eyebrow, "one of these days you're going to stop referencing Star Wars."

"Never."

Cassie laughed, "well, master Jedi. Could you please take me home now?"

"I think I can arrange that." His eye twinkled as he deftly shifted into gear and backed out of the vet's office. The ride home was filled with amicable silence, that Cassie was thankful for. She was still trying to figure out how all the pieces fit into the wolf puzzle.

As she turned to leave the car, Stiles put a hand on her shoulder. "I know you normally talk to Scott about stuff, but I'm here too. I know somethings wrong, no pressure. Just... when you're ready, I'm here."

She squeezed his hand gently, "thank you." _Stiles is a better friend than I give him credit for._ Stiles nodded. She stood on the porch until he was out of sight, then she broke into a run, heading for the preserve. It took her less than 10 minutes to reach the preserve on foot. She then followed the familiar trail, through the brush and leaves, to the charred house. She paused outside, listening, only hearing one set of footsteps in the house, and knowing that Derek would've heard her approach, she marched in.

"You've got some explaining to do, Hale!" She yelled at the quiet house.

"And you still know how to make an entrance, Cassaia." Derek appeared in front of her. It still felt so strange to hear her birth name, only a limited few knew it and even fewer ever said it. She shoved him harshly into the wall behind him.

"Why is it that you show up back in town the same day my friend is bitten?" She flung the accusation out hotly, her temper refusing to stay on its leash.

Derek sighed. "I didn't bite Scott, and I don't know who did. But I do know that whoever bit him, killed Laura."

"What?" She breathed out in a startled gasp. She released him, backing up a few steps.

Derek nodded bitterly, "there's an alpha running around the woods with my sister's power, and her blood on his hands." His eyes flashed their familiar icy blue. Tears welled up in her eyes and her blood boiled even hotter.

"The monster that killed Laura is just running around biting teenagers! Why?!" She threw the words at Derek like an accusation.

"I don't know, but I've been trying to find out," Derek answered calmly under her tirade, she nodded, wiping her eyes.

"I'm sorry." She reached out a hand before wrapping both arms around her friend, Derek's arms wrapped around her back firmly before releasing. "I'm sorry that I wasn't there enough when Laura died."

"I know." He met her gaze steadily.

"I'm going to help you find the alpha, and, I promise, we'll make him pay." She wasn't thinking about her parents or keeping under the radar. At that moment, she was thinking of how kind Laura was, and how sweet Derek used to be and how their family didn't deserve any of this. He nodded. "Be careful. Ok? A beta alone can't defeat an alpha." _Please don't be rash. I don't need to see another Hale tombstone._ Derek was silent, she knew he wouldn't answer, he could be so stubborn and reckless.

She turned to go, "Cassie. You too." She didn't answer. 

_So maybe we're both a bit reckless._


	3. Parties and hunters are not a good combination ~ (1.01)

The next few days passed rather uneventfully. Cassie had scoped out the Argent house (on her own as she was still unwilling to tell her parents that there might be hunters in town). As far as she could tell there were no more than three hunters: Allison and her parents. That didn't ease her growing sense of dread though, there were too many things converging on Beacon Hills. Too many things happening that shouldn't be happening. And it could all lead to their discovery.

All in all, Friday dawned without incident. Classes being just as dull as ever, the highlight of the day was when Jackson threatened Scott in an effort to find out where his sudden lacrosse success came from. Of course, Cassie wanted to deck him for that, but still, it was more interesting than her teacher droning on and on about a book where some guy turns into a giant bug.

"And then I asked her out." Scott finished the story of how he'd gotten a date with Allison as the three of them walked towards the boys' locker room. Stiles was uncharacteristically quiet, nodding along at random intervals.

"Good for you." Cassie smiled at Scott as she said this, the smile taking more effort than normal. _It must be the stress,_ she thought to herself, _Scott deserves a little happiness._ But a little twinge in her heart whispered defiantly, _why does it have to be Allison?_ She brushed it off, Allison seemed nice.

Scott smiled back, but there was something unsaid in his eyes as they met hers.

"Good luck." She gave them each a light fist bump before departing for the stands to watch their practice like normal.

She saw Allison and Lydia sitting on the bench, directly behind where she normally sat. She almost turned towards a different section of the bench but decided against it. After all, as Sun Tzu said, 'know your enemy.' Perhaps she'd be able to learn something about the Argents in the process. She sat down in her normal seat and almost immediately turned around to face the other girls, "Hi, Allison. Lydia." The latter simply tilted her head ignoring Cassie, while the former exchanged a proper greeting.

Cassie had begun to turn back around, but Allison's voice stopped her. "I have a date with Scott tonight."

Cassie tried to laugh but it came out more like a cough, "he mentioned that. Gave us the story in play by play. He's really excited." The smile was easier this time.

Allison nodded, frowning slightly, "and you're okay with that?"

It was Cassie's turn to frown, "why wouldn't I be?"—Allison shrugged—"And shouldn't you be more excited about tonight"

"I am. I just thought... never mind." Allison smiled easily now, it was a nice glowing smile. Cassie smiled back more easily than she had before, maybe the Argents showing up didn't mean that everything was ruined. "Maybe I'll see you there," Allison added.

"Maybe." Cassie shrugged, unwilling to commit to going to a loud raucous party. Her attention was diverted back to the field, as the team filed out. Scott and Stiles appeared to be locked in an animated discussion, she tilted her head listening carefully.

"—animal hairs on the body," Stiles said as she listened.

"Stiles." Scott sighed, trying to move away.

"It was a wolf, Scott. A wolf." But Scott didn't appear to hear him, already making his way over to Coach and the other players. _You're too smart for your own good sometimes Stiles._ She shook her head, a wry smile on her face. Maybe things could be easier if he figured it all out, no more secrets. But, it wouldn't just be her she was giving up like that, it would be her parents. And if she started telling people, how long would it be before they were found. It wasn't a risk she could take.

She smiled as Stiles ran awkwardly over to the team huddle, taking a place next to Scott. At least somethings would never change.

"Listen up, cupcakes." Coach shouted to the huddled players. Scott's gaze shifted away from Coach for a moment as he glanced at the stands, he lifted his hand in a wave. Cassie half-waved back before noticing that Scott's focus wasn't on her, but Allison. Cheeks burning, she let her hand drop quickly. _Maybe some things do change, but that's okay._ She forced away the little twinge in her heart. _Scott's allowed to have a girlfriend._

"You got a problem, McCall?" Coach barked as Scott put his hand down.

"No, sir," Scott replied, his gaze immediately shifting from Allison.

"Wave to your girlfriend after practice. Now,—" Her attention drifted from the field. A million things playing through her head. So far her parents hadn't noticed what was going on, but it was only a matter of time before they found out about Scott, the Argents, and the alpha running around town. Her mom was still out of town, but her dad was bound to notice something soon. _Oh god, if he talks to Deaton._ No one would recognize a newly bitten beta quite like a Druid emissary.

A whistle sounded, effectively ending her downward thought spiral. Practice was over and most of the players were trudging towards the changing room. Scott, with an unusual spring in his step, and Jackson, who was practically gnashing his teeth together, all meandering towards the changing room. Except for Stiles who made his way over to her in a hurry, looking worried.

"Did you see that?" He exclaimed, looking at her imploringly.

"See what?" Cassie asked, confused.

"Scott. Playing lacrosse. Good." Stiles paused emphatically as though to hammer his point home. "Something's off. I mean I know he's been training, but something isn't right."

"Uh." She had no idea how to respond. She knew exactly what was happening to Scott, but couldn't exactly tell Stiles, _hey, our best friend is a werewolf now._ She'd be sent to Eichen House for even suggesting something like that.

"Maybe he just trained really hard. I mean he wasn't going to stay bad at Lacrosse forever." Cassie tried to make it sound plausible and not like she was fishing for ways to throw Stiles off.

"Hmm," there was something searching in the look Stiles gave her. Like he knew that she wasn't telling all she knew. But then he was back to goofy and spastic. "So are you going to help me figure out what's wrong with Scott or what?"

"Lead the way."

As a rule, smart people are terrible organizers, and Stiles' room was definite evidence of that. Or maybe it was just the fact that he was a teenage boy with a terrible sense of cleanliness. Either way, Cassie had to poke several things out of the way as she took a seat on Stiles' bed.

Stiles, of course, wasted no time in researching. He started off with the generic 'enhanced strength' search, but it wasn't long before he added 'wolf' and there was only one result that was going to lead to. Cassie sighed as she watched Stiles print out pages and pages of werewolf lore. He'd stumbled rather inadvertently onto the answer and once he realized that there would be no stopping him.

Stiles turned to her suddenly, a question falling from his lips. "Am I right?"

"What?" Cassie looked at him in surprise. "How should I—"

"Cassie." He interrupted her, "I know that you know. I don't know how or why, and I'm assuming you wouldn't tell me even if I asked. Just for Scott's sake, am I right?"

She sat there for a moment, pondering. It was a simple enough question, but the weight of the whole situation was so much more than that. If she answered then we would be admitting to lying to Scott and Stiles for a very long time, and she couldn't imagine what that could do to their friendship. On the other hand, if she stayed silent that was just as much of a confirmation. There was no good way out of this situation, Stiles really was too smart for his own good. It was a miracle he hadn't stumbled onto Beacon Hills' supernatural underbelly long before this.

"Yes." She could see something fall behind Stiles' eyes, he hadn't known himself if he was right about her until this moment. "Stiles, I would've told you, both of you. But, there's so much more at stake here than just us. It wasn't even my secret to tell." She knew it wasn't enough, even as she said it.

Stiles held up a hand. "Are you really our friend?"

"Yes, of course."

"Then it doesn't matter. You say it wasn't yours to tell and I believe you." He turned back to his screen.

There was a split between her and Stiles, she could feel it. She had lied, even if he understood. It would still take time to heal. _At least it isn't broken forever._

The words hovered on her lips before she finally brought herself to say them, "please don't tell Scott." She knew it would put Stiles in an uncomfortable position but she wasn't sure if she could stand Scott looking at her the way Stiles was now. Stiles moved his head almost imperceptibly, it wasn't quite a nod, but it was enough.

A silence stretched between her and Stiles then, growing more and more uncomfortable by the minute. Eventually, Stiles broke it, "you know we have to tell him. He has to know he's a wolf."

"He won't believe you," but she nodded in spite of herself. He was right.

"Good. Because I already texted him."

"Maybe I should leave then." She mumbled beginning to stand.

"He'll want you here. You're the one who can convince him."

The front door creaked open, _perfect timing Scott._ Cassie glanced at Stiles, wondering if she should give him advance warning, but how she knew would probably raise more questions.

"Stiles. Cassie." Scott called as he came up the stairs.

"In here," Stiles called back, trying to gather the printed papers into some semblance of order before Scott entered the room. Cassie made one last furtive glance at Stiles's bedroom window, edging slowly towards it before Stiles fixed her with a _'don't you dare'_ look.

Stiles' bedroom door opened tentatively. Cassie could practically smell the uncertainty rolling off Scott. Scott quirked an eyebrow as he took in the disheveled state of Stiles and his room.

"What happened here?"

"Stiles finally fell off his rocker," Cassie interjected before Stiles could say anything, she was not ready for this conversation. She crossed her legs as she sat heavily on Stiles's bed, feeling the need to sink into herself and away from such a dangerous topic.

Scott nodded, not breaking eye contact with Stiles. "Your text said this was urgent."

Stiles nodded, beckoning Scott over before grabbing the mess of papers off his desk. He moved to dump them on the bed, shoving Cassie to the side to make room. She let out a halfhearted "hey", but made room for the flurry of paper.

"Cassie and I have been researching, cause you gotta admit. There's no normal explanation why you made first line." Stiles laid out the facts harshly, with a bit of dry wit here and there. "Since you're sure it was a wolf that bit you. I started there, and everything I've found points to one answer and one answer alone." He punctuated the last sentence finger jabs in Scott's direction. "You remember that joke I made? Well...not really a joke anymore."

Cassie wanted to smack him, that was really not the way to do this. You had to be delicate, Stiles couldn't just implode Scott's entire world and make it sound like a joke. "Scott. What Stiles is trying to say is that what bit you was no ordinary wolf."

"Then what was it?"

"A werewolf."

Scott's gaze flicked from Stiles to Cassie and back again before finally locking on Cassie. "Why are you guys doing this? Why are you trying to ruin my life right when everything is going right?"

Cassie immediately reached out a hand to Scott. "It's not like that. We're worried about you, we're just trying to get this under control before someone gets hurt."

"Case in point: Allison," Stiles interjected, grabbing Scott's phone. "Who knows what all your wolfie hormones will do when you see her tonight."

"Stiles," Scott's breathing was becoming erratic. This was not good. "What are you doing with my phone?"

"Cancelling your date with Allison. You can't go anywhere near her until we figure this out."

"No." What came out of Scott's mouth was more like a feral roar than a human shout. Cassie shoved Stiles out of the way as Scott pounced. She heard her shirt rip, but thankfully it took more than werewolf claws to puncture her skin. Scott froze, looking at Cassie, a hundred emotions heartbreakingly laid out on his face for all to see before he fled.

It took Cassie a moment to calm Stiles down. He was hyperventilating, "he tried to kill me. He actually tried to kill me."

"Hey. Stiles." She cupped his face gently. "Stiles, look at me. That was not Scott, ok. Scott is our best friend. He's your brother, he would never do anything to hurt you. That is a new werewolf who feels scared and alone. He just needs our help." Stiles's eyes focused on her with some difficulty. "He's our friend and he needs our help, ok?" Stiles nodded. "Ok." She said backing away. Stiles grabbed her wrist, halting her movement before quickly pulling her into a hug. Cassie hugged him tightly, she could still feel him shaking. "I promise, it's all going to be ok."

It was nearly an hour later when Cassie and Stiles were finally ready to go. Thankfully the party hadn't started yet. Stiles had even managed to clean himself up a bit. Cassie had spent so much time at Stiles and Scott's houses growing up that his closet was half full of her clothes, so she hadn't even needed to go home to change.

Stiles walked in as she slipped a thin floral tee over her head. "Stiles." She chastised. "Most people knock."

"You've literally changed in the back seat of my car."

"That was different.'' Cassie tossed her discarded shirt over his head onto the bed, she saw him glance at the shirt for a moment before looking back at her. "And you said you weren't looking."

"I wasn't," his cheeks flamed pink.

Cassie laughed. There wasn't anything more fun than teasing Stiles. "We should get going."

"Yeah," Stiles replied absently, his cheeks still pink. 

"Stiles?"

"Yeah," he answered as he smacked into the bedframe.

"I'm pretty sure that the door is the other way." Cassie slapped a hand across her mouth to stifle her laughter.

Stiles swatted absently at her, in a _yeah-yeah_ motion, as he passed her. This time headed in the correct direction.

The party was in full swing when they arrived. The Martin house was vibrating with sound: music and every raucous teenager in Beacon Hills.

"All right. You go find Scott, while I find something to take the edge off." Cassie attempted to shoo Stiles away as she spoke.

"Yeah. Send the clueless defenseless one after the werewolf, while the only one who knows anything gets drunk. Maybe not." Stiles wouldn't meet her gaze as he said this and she sensed there was something more to his desire not to split up.

Cassie sighed. "Fine. Let's go save his furry ass before he does anything stupid."

They threaded their way through the party, trying not to get knocked over by the mass of stumbling drunk teens. Stiles nearly fell into the pool as a boozed teenager rammed into him, but she caught his shirt collar at the last moment. However, she hadn't balanced right and they both fell the ground next to the pool, her on top of Stiles.

"You okay?" she asked, their faces inches apart.

"Yeah." Maybe it was just the light but she could've sworn his cheeks were red.

"We should probably get up."

"Yeah," Stiles said quietly, staring at her.

She quickly stood up, they needed to find Scott before he hurt someone. She held out of a hand to help Stiles up which he accepted gratefully. They continued to move through the crowd, though a little further from each other this time. Stiles jumped when her hand accidentally brushed his.

He covered up the moment quickly, pointing over her shoulder. "There's Scott."

Cassie glanced in the direction Stiles has indicated and sure enough, there was Scott stumbling through the party as though he were drunk out of his mind. Though she suspected his attitude had less to do with alcohol and more to do with the full moon hanging dangerously above them.

"Scott, are you alright?" It was a stupid question given the circumstance, but there was nothing else she could say in that moment.

Scott glances at them, his eyes only half seeing before he continues pushing his way out of the house. Cassie and Stiles glanced at each other, then at Scott's retreating figure. No words needed to be spoken, they knew what to do. Wordlessly they headed for Roscoe.

The drive to Scott's house was spent in tense silence. Stiles looked like he was bursting with questions about the circumstances. Cassie was thankful that none of those questions came out because she didn't have any answers ready for him.

Cassie was jumping out of the jeep before Stiles even put it in park. Her feet pounded the pavement as she ran toward the house. She could hear Scott pacing in his room, that was never a good sign.

"C'mon, he's in his room." She tossed the words over her shoulder without breaking stride. The door was unlocked and she went straight for the stairs. "Scott," she called as she ran toward his door. "Scott, let me in." His pacing stopped. She heard a thud as he leaned against the door. She touched the wood softly, "please, Scott."

Cassie stumbled as Stiles slammed into her. "Stiles!" She hissed, annoyed, "really?"

He shrugged, already focusing on the door. It was his turn to try and coax Scott out. "Scott, come on buddy. Let us in, we're here to help."

"You can't help me. You have to find Allison." Scott said softly, taking deep shuddering breaths.

"She's fine, Scott. She got a ride from Derek." Cassie cut in trying to reassure him.

"NO!" A fist slamming the door had both of them jumping back in surprise. "No. It's him, he's the one who bit me. He's the other wolf." There was silence on the other side of the door. Cassie heard the faint squeak of Scott's bedroom window.

She resisted the urge to bang her head against the wall, the last thing they needed was a new beta loose on the streets of Beacon Hills. She turned to Stiles, "he's gone." Stiles opened his mouth to ask, but she held up a hand. "That doesn't matter right now, go check on her and I'll follow him." Stiles hesitated, "I know you're mad, and I know you don't trust me. But you have to believe me right now. If you follow him, you'll just get hurt. I know you saw my shirt, he can't hurt me, ok?"

Stiles huffed. "Ok."

She watched as he took off down the stairs, she turned the doorknob on Scott's door hard enough to break the lock. She was across the room in a moment and hopping out the window in another. "Come on, Scott. Where are you?" She whispered the question to the wind, her worry growing by the minute. If the Argents were out tonight, then none of them were safe. She took a deep breath and listened carefully.

_Snap._

A twig. It came from the direction of the Hale house, she took off in a dead sprint. Covering a few miles of wood in a couple of minutes.

"What did you do to her?" _Scott?_ The yell carried easily across the Preserve. _Is he asking to be shot?_

She arrived near Scott, just in time to see him leap at Derek.

"Scott." She made her voice soft and calm, knowing he would hear her. "Stop."

The sheer shock value of seeing her miles into the woods only minutes after he'd ditched her at his house was enough to make him pause.

"How are you here?" He stared at her, something akin to distrust flickering in his eyes.

_Crunch._

A boot on leaves, not far from them. _Hunters._

"No time." She tackled both of them to the ground as bullets started flying.

"I'll draw their fire. You two run."

"No!" It was Derek. "I can't let anyone else get hurt." The last part was for her ears only.

"I'll be fine. It's not like they can hurt me. Now go!" She shoved them and took off running in the opposite direction, the hunter split into groups to follow them. She didn't dare risk a glance behind her, but it was clear that there were more than three. The Argents weren't here alone.

She stumbled as something hit her back. She didn't worry, hunters' weapons couldn't hurt her. She was feet away from the Hale house when the pain started, _that can't be good._ Thankfully the hunters were far enough behind that if she ducked into the house now, they wouldn't know where she went, and she'd have time to assess her injury. She ran up the stairs for good measure before collapsing in one of the back rooms.

Her shoulder was covered in blood, and she could feel the bullet in there as she moved her arm. There was only one thing that could pierce her skin, _iron._ She knew bullets weren't normally made of that, so she hadn't been worried. _They know!_ The realization went through her like a bolt of lightning. If they knew this what else could they know, she had to warn her parents.

She tried to stand and fell back with a groan. She could feel herself growing weaker, if that bullet stayed in her it would kill her long before the blood loss did. Already the wound was beginning to burn with a fire that only poison could bring. She ripped off the bottom of her shirt, which was thankfully free of dirt and blood. She stuffed it in her mouth, before taking two fingers and reaching into the wound on her shoulder. The pain multiplied, and she screamed through the gag. She could almost reach the bullet, _just a little further...no!_ Her hand, slippery with blood couldn't get a firm grasp on the metal. She let her arm fall to the side, already she could feel it going numb. Sweat coated her forehead and it was all she could do to keep her eyes open.

The door banged open and Derek Hale stumbled inside. He'd managed to ditch the hunters an hour ago but spent an extra hour making sure there was no trail left to follow. He regretted that decision as soon as the metallic honey scent met his nostrils, there was only one person who smelled like that.

"Cassie?!" Derek called as he ran upstairs, the scent of blood only getting stronger. Laura's face flashed in front of his eyes, _not again._ He froze as he entered the room she lay in. The scent of blood was so thick he could smell nothing else. "Cassie..." It was a whisper this time, barely making it out of his throat.

Her face was pale and covered in sweat, a discarded piece of cloth lay next to her. Her shoulder was drenched in blood, and so was her hand. "You tried to pull it out? You idiot. Why didn't you ask for help?!"

Her eyes cracked open, "I knew you'd find me." A tired smile ghosted her lips.

"It is my house." His face was straight, but inside he was panicking. It had to be iron to get through her skin and that was poison to her, but he didn't have the experience to get it out and counteract the poison.

"Derek," he met her gaze, "you have to get me to Deaton."

He remembered the dark-skinned man from the years before the house had burned down. He'd been an ally and adviser of his mother's if anyone could help it would be him. He stooped down and as gently as he could, scooped her into his arms. Even so, she shifted in pain groaning before exhaustion finally got the best of her and she passed out. That wasn't good.

Thankfully, his car wasn't parked too far away. For once he didn't care about the leather as he draped her over the back seat. He pushed the speed limit the entire way and was, for once, grateful for Beacon Hills' understaffed sheriff's department. He screeched into the vet parking lot only minutes later.

Blood had soaked the seats and she was even paler than the last time he'd glanced at her. Her breathing was faint, and he could only even tell it was there if he strained his ears. He barged through the door not caring who heard him. He was stopped at the desk by a gate lined with mountain ash. Frustrated, he growled to anyone who would hear. "Deaton! Where are you?!"

There was a shuffling sound before Deaton finally emerged. He took one look at the girl in Derek's arms and opened the gate. "This way, and hurry. She doesn't have much time."

Derek wasted no time in obeying. He set her on an examining table in the vets' back room. Cassie was completely dead weight in his arms at this point, not even stirring when he jostled her shoulder accidentally.

"What happened?" Deaton called over his shoulder, as he went through a cabinet of peculiar-looking bottles.

"Hunters. They had iron bullets."

Deaton nodded, finally settling on a bottle full of greenish powder. "This should counteract the poison, but I have to remove the bullet first." He grabbed a pair of tongs from a tray in the corner. "If you'll hold her down." Derek nodded, gripping her arms so tightly they would probably bruise, but he would apologize about that after he saved her life.

She began to struggle as Deaton inserted the tongs, he had to shift them around to get a firm grip. Each motion sent waves of pain through her. Finally, he was able to grab the bullet, he removed it in one swift motion. Her thrashing calmed but she still fidgeted, her head tossing to the side.

"Now for the tricky part." Deaton moved to grab the bottle, taking a handful of powder. "Don't let go." Careful not to spill any, he rubbed the powder into the wound. Immediately a wave of energy jolted through her, so powerful it nearly threw Derek off. Then she lay still, her breathing finally even. A little color had even returned to her cheeks.

"What was that?" Derek asked wiping sweat from his brow and letting his adrenaline rush cool.

"I received that powder from an old friend many years ago, it counteracts the poison by overstimulating her own healing ability. Much like an adrenaline shot." Deaton stated calmly, rinsing the blood off his hands. "She won't wake for a few hours, you should rest."

Derek shook his head. "I'll wait."

Deaton nodded, "as you wish," and left the room.

The sun was just beginning to shine through the high windows when Cassie woke. She almost went back to sleep, but her different surroundings confused her. This wasn't her bedroom. She groaned as the previous night came flooding back. A shuffle made her open her eyes.

"Derek Hale, I am never saving your ass again."

He laughed. "I think we're even now."

They both turned to the doorway as someone else entered the room.

"It's good to see you awake. You gave us quite a scare, Cassaia." Deaton always addressed her by her given name and it was endearing quirk she'd come to love over the years.

She smiled. "Deaton, it's been a while."

He came closer, inspecting her for any negative effects of their impromptu surgery. He seemed to find nothing wrong because he smiled at her warmly. "Indeed it has, the last time I saw you, you were kneehigh playing tag with Cora Hale."

Cassie smiled at the memory of her old friend, now long dead.

Then the sunlight streaming through the windows dawned on her. "It's morning! My parents are going to kill me." She scrambled off the table. "I have to get home."

Derek grabbed her arm gently before she could get through the door. Wordlessly he pulled her into a hug. "Don't do anything that stupid again."

_You're picking a fight with an alpha all by yourself._

She kept quiet and hugged him back just as fiercely. "Ok, but I'm driving." She grabbed his keys and sprinted outside before he could stop her.


	4. Why is the truth so hard? ~ (1.02)

Cassie was at war with herself the entire drive from the vet. Her parents needed to know that there were hunters in town and that these hunters knew about them. But she wasn't ready to leave Beacon Hills behind. She couldn't leave Derek or Stiles and she couldn't bear to leave Scott like this. Not when he'd just turned, and felt scared and alone, perhaps not ever.

When she pulled up to her house she couldn't force herself to get out of the car. "They're going to kill me. I survived hunters only to be murdered by my own parents."

Derek laughed, but his eyes were dark. She knew he'd worried and truthfully so had she, but it was easier to laugh and pretend nothing scared her.

"Come in with me," she begged. "My parents love you and they would never yell at me when we have a guest."

"Ok."

"Thank you. Thank you." She tossed his keys back to him with a smile.

"Wait." She turned, half out of the car. He tossed her his jacket, "you really don't want to go in looking like that." He indicated the blood and dirt caked on her shirt. She zipped it up gratefully. Pausing a moment, she dusted the dirt off her pants as best she could. Thankfully the jacket hung low enough to hide the worst of the blood.

Derek reached the door before she did, she was purposely dragging. She wasn't ready to lie to them. He stepped aside and let her open the door, she turned the knob slowly, trying not to make any noise. But, of course, parents always seem to know.

"Where have you been, young lady?!"

"Hi, mom." She answered sheepishly propping the door open the rest of the way. "Before you freak out just know that I brought a friend with me."

Derek stepped through the doorway awkwardly. "Hi, Mrs. Narm."

Immediately her mother's whole demeanor changed. "Derek Hale, sweetheart. It's good to see you. I was so sad to hear about your sister."

Derek nodded, seemingly unsure what to say.

"That still doesn't explain why you weren't in your bed this morning, Cassaia." It was her dad's turn to use the 'disappointed parent' voice.

"I know. And I would've called, but Stiles and I were talking last night and it was late and I just fell asleep." She rubbed the back of her neck, not sure what else to say, "sorry." She tried awkwardly.

Her mother narrowed her eyes before nodding and Cassie made a mental note to tell Stiles her alibi when she got to school. _School!_ She realized.

"Mom. Dad. As fun as this has been, I have to get ready for school or I'm going to be seriously late." She nudged Derek in their direction before taking off for her room. She knew he'd get back at her for tossing him to the wolves, but she was going to be very late if she weren't ready soon.

She tossed Derek's jacket onto her bed. She'd wash it and give it back to him later. Her hair was a mess, greasy and frazzled. It needed a full wash, but for now, she ran fingers through it, wincing at the tangles, and threw it into a messy bun. She swapped her dirty shirt for a clean one and changed out of her jeans in favor of a pair of clean shorts. Her shoes were in good enough condition to leave alone. A spritz of perfume and she was ready to go. She was halfway out her bedroom door before she realized that she'd forgotten her backpack.

She spotted on her bookshelf and tossed it over her shoulder.

"Record time." She congratulated herself as she made her way down the stairs. She was grateful to see that Derek was still waiting for her. He looked pretty uncomfortable, trapped in a conversation with her parents. So she decided to throw him a bone.

"Derek, ready to go?" He looked up, nodding.

Her mother frowned, "but we were having so much fun talking to you, sweetie. You have to come back soon, it's been too long."

Derek nodded again, standing up.

Cassie waited until they were in the car to breathe a sigh of relief.

"Sorry about that," she told Derek as he started up the car. "I know how they can be."

"You'll make it up to me by getting the blood out of the back seat."

She laughed, he knew how to do payback. "Of course, but only if I get to school on time."

They made it to Beacon Hills High with 10 minutes to spare.

"Thank you." She waved as Derek pulled away.

She grimaced as she saw Scott and Stiles walking towards her. _God, I am not ready for this conversation. I can't lie to them, but I can't tell them anything. Gah, why is the truth so hard?!_

"Hey." She greeted them as nonchalantly as she could. "How are you guys?"

"How were you in the Preserve last night?"

Stiles gaped, apparently this was news to him.

Cassie sighed, _way to beat around the bush, Scotty._

"I can't tell you that."

"Cassie. You saved my life, at least tell me how. Are you like me?"

She bit her lip, maybe she could skate the line a little bit. She let out a deep breath. "Truth. I'm not like you, I can't tell you what I am." She held up a hand to stop protests before they came. "It isn't my secret to tell, and even if I could tell you. It would put all three of us in even more danger. There are hunters out there, Scott." Her shoe scuffed the ground as she made a wild, frustrated kick at thin air. "People who like nothing better than to put a bullet before our eyes. Just for the crime of existing. You have bigger problems than my secret."

"Hi normal person here," Stiles interjected with a raised hand, "back up, please. No one said anything about hunters. Who are they? What do they want?"

"They want to wipe us out." The words hung heavy in the air, and she almost regretted saying them, but she needed to make them both understand the stakes here. This wasn't some movie where you got superpowers and went off to save the world while the adoring public cheered. This was a fight for survival, where the slightest mess could cost you your life.

"But, why?" Scott's voice was quiet, scared. "Why do they hate us?"

"Because we're stronger than them and people are always afraid of those that are stronger than them. They hunt us because it makes them feel strong. We're an endangered species, Scott. Welcome to the fight."

Scott's breathing was becoming erratic. 

_Crap._ She was regretting snapping at him, if only he knew the night she'd had.

"Hey. Scott. Scott. Listen to me, you're not in this alone. Stiles and I are here for you." Stiles nodded.

Scott's eyes were still full of panic. She couldn't stand to see him like that any longer, she wrapped him in his fierce hug. He hugged her back with a force that was almost bruising. She pulled away when she heard his heartbeat slow down. She met his gaze steadily, giving him every emotion she had. "It's ok. You. Are. Not. Alone."

Scott's eyes clouded for a moment and he sniffed. "You smell like blood." He tossed it at her like an accusation, but she could hear the worry in his tone.

"Uh, yeah." _How to phrase this so it didn't sound bad._ "I got shot." _Oh no,_ she cringed. 

"What?!" Scott and Stiles screeched nearly in unison.

"How?" Scott.

"Where?" Stiles.

"It's no big deal, Derek found me before I bled out."

Stiles's eyes bugged, that had been completely the wrong thing to say.

"Before you what?" Stiles looked like he was about to faint.

"Ok. Keep your eyes in, Stiles." Cassie took a steadying breath, she was not ready to recount her near-death experience only hours after it had happened.

_Ring._

Saved by the bell, literally. 

"Come on, we're going to be late." There was a silent 'we'll finish this later' passed between them as she turned towards the school. She started walking without looking back at them. She needed something normal in her life right now and there was nothing more normal than high school. 

The day seemed to fly by and all too soon the last bell was ringing. Cassie packed up slowly, not eager to talk to Scott and Stiles. She was not ready to talk about last night and if they asked why she'd probably break down. It was a very lose-lose situation. She picked up one of her pencils too forcefully and it snapped in half. Thankfully, everyone else was too busy chattering and packing up to notice. 

Stiles and Scott had already rushed out to lacrosse practice, though not before Scott had given her a questioning look. _Curse that boy for being preceptive sometimes._ She slid notecards into a bag pocket before snapping it shut. The rest of the class had gone and the teacher was watching her expectantly. She swung her backpack onto her back with a huff and headed off towards the lacrosse field. She almost didn't go, but if Scott wolfed out on the field there would be no one else who could stop him.

Her dawdling had unintended consequences, she'd managed to avoid Scott and Stiles, but now the only available seat in the stands was directly in front Allison and Lydia. Cassie almost turned around right there. She did not to just calmly sit in front of Allison when only hours earlier she'd almost died from a bullet her father had fired.

But then she saw Scott's face and how happy he looked doing probably the one thing that still made sense to him right now. She couldn't turn away from that. As a last resort, she dug around in her bag for her headphones. She slid them on, blaring music to drown out the rest of the world. Hopefully, this would keep her from having to talk to Allison.

She slid into the seat carefully, doing her best not to draw attention to herself. 

_Tap._

Maybe it'll go away.

_Tap. Tap._

"Yes?" Cassie spun around to face Allison. She did her best to keep her face neutral.

"Scott really bolted out of that party. Do you know if he's ok?"

"Scott? Yeah, he's fine." She answered distractedly, trying to end the conversation as soon as possible. But then Allison said something that surprised her.

"Are you ok?" Was that _genuine concern_ in Allison's voice?

"Yeah." She lifted a hand as if to brush the comment away, but Allison caught it.

"Cassie, you're shaking."

 _I am?_ She hadn't noticed, but now the trembling grew worse. There was a faint ringing in her ears. _I need to get out of here._

She tore her hand from Allison's, not even bothering to offer an explanation. Her fight or flight instinct that hadn't kicked in last night was choosing now to shoot her body full of adrenaline. She wrung her hands together, silently begging them to stop trembling. She moved as fast as she could while still walking. She just needed to get... _away_.

She didn't even notice where she was until she slid down against the back wall of the school and started bawling. It was all too much. She just sat there. 

It could've been minutes or hours before she heard a voice calling her.

"Cassie?" It was Allison. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to upset you. I was just worried about you."

She wasn't able to form a clear sentence in the midst of all her blubbering so she just shook her head, unsure what else to do. Allison slid down the wall next to her, slowly. She paused for a moment before cautiously wrapping an arm around Cassie. In any other circumstance, she would've shaken the Argent off and been on her way, but she needed human comfort and at the moment she didn't care where it came from.

"Shhh," Allison whispered as she walked rocked Cassie gently. She didn't say anything else, just held her softly. It was as though she knew that silence was the best cure. Eventually, Cassie ran out of tears. She sniffled softly one last time before removing her head from the crook of Allison's neck.

"Thank you." Cassie's eyes were red and puffy, and she still had a lot of the mess of the previous night on her, but the Argent girl just smiled at her sweetly and nodded.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Now the silence that fell between them was awkward as Cassie avoided Allison's gaze. She was sweet, yes, but she was still an Argent. How much did she already know and how much could Cassie say before she became suspicious? Allison had shown her kindness though, perhaps she could tell her, with a few details omitted, of course.

"I was in a bad situation, a while back. I got pretty banged up. I guess...I never really processed it before today. And something just made it all come tumbling back."

Allison nodded slowly, and gently squeezed Cassie's hand. "If you need someone, I'm here."

 _Thank you._ The words got caught in her throat and she was only able to nod. But Allison seemed to understand. They sat like that for a little while longer. The silence was thankfully less awkward. 

"Practice is probably over now. I wouldn't want to miss my ride." Cassie stood up stiffly, her muscles screaming in protest. "But, maybe we could talk again soon?" She'd intended it as a statement, but it ended up more like a question.

Allison smiled at her kindly. _Maybe she's not as bad as the rest of her family_. The thought popped into her head unexpectedly. The last thing she'd expected today was to be sharing an easy smile with an Argent.

As Cassie approached the school she found Stiles, already changed out of his lacrosse uniform, sitting in the now-empty stands. He appeared to be waiting for her because as soon as he saw her he hopped down and jogged over.

"I didn't see you when practice ended." He used the accusation to forgoe a normal greeting, jumping straight to the point. 

Cassie shrugged. "I just didn't feel like watching today." 

She didn't know why she bothered to lie. Stiles had this uncanny ability to see right through her deceptions every time. Evidenced one again in the way his eyes pierced her, thankfully he didn't call her out. Instead, he changed tack. 

"Scott seemed pretty bummed that you weren't there."

She reached across to smack him lightly, a half-glare on her face. "Low blow, Stliniski."

Stiles shrugged in response, clearly feeling unashamed. 

"Where is Scott anyway?" Cassie hadn't noticed his absence until Stiles brought it up.

"Trying to patch things up with his girlfriend." She stumbled, an icy feeling in her chest. Why was she surprised, she knew that Scott wanted to make up with Allison. But something about the fact that he'd actually done it left her feeling cold.

Stiles's eyes watched her once more, with that look he always had. Like he knew so much more than she'd said. They continued toward Roscoe in a moderate silence, Stiles tossing in his usual brand of humor now and then. They were feet from the jeep when Scott barrelled toward them, his face white as a sheet. 

His hands flailed wildly as he tried to explain his situation, but the words kept coming out jumbled. Cassie caught one of his flailing hands and squeezed it gently, not releasing it until he'd finally calmed enough to tell his story.

"Allison's dad is the hunter. He's the one who shot at us." You could hear a pin drop in the silence that followed his words. 

On instinct, she gazed in the direction he'd come from. Allison stood next to a black SUV talking to a man that Cassie knew to be her father. Almost as though he knew someone was watching he glanced at her. Cassie shuddered as she met the steel grey eyes that had almost killed her the night before. She ducked her head down quickly, wanting to disappear. The tremors that Allison had helped her through were threatening to rack her body once again.

She couldn't break down, not here. It was one thing to break down in front of a girl who seemed to want to be her friend, but to break down in front of Scott and Stiles, the people she always tried to be so strong for. She couldn't let herself do that. She took a couple deep breathes and shoved the fear back down into a deep dark hole where she could forget about it for now.

Scott and Stiles were too wrapped up in the shock of his news to notice her moment of weakness. Scott was still moving around sporadically, trying to come to terms with this new piece of information. 

She squeezed Scott's hand again, beckoning them both closer to make sure that they weren't overheard. She grabbed Stiles's hand as well pulling them both close. 

"I have experience with hunters. As long as we keep our heads down, and you don't go crazy on the full moon. We'll be fine." 

Scott nodded. 

"And this means you have to extra careful around Allison," Stiles added, a tad patronizingly.

"I know," Scott sighed. "I know it's the right thing to do. I just...don't want to." 

"Ah, to be young and in love," Stiles said sagely, clapping Scott on the back.

"Shut up."


	5. Wolf Hormones and Painful Visits ~ (1.02)

It wasn't until Cassie got home and she signed on for a video chat with Scott and Stiles, that they revealed just how much craziness had gone down at lacrosse practice.

"You what?" She yelled in exasperation as Stiles told her of the incident in the locker room. "You were almost sliced and diced and you didn't think to tell me before now!"

Scott winced at her choice of words and she backtracked guiltily. "What I meant to say is that. I'm glad you're both ok." Her eyes flicked to Stiles on the small screen. "How did you snap him out of it."

Stiles shrugged. "I whacked him with a fire extinguisher."

Scott rubbed the back of his head at the memory.

"Ok." Cassie clapped her hands together, "so as you've already figured out emotional and hormonal activities, like lacrosse, are going to make you wolf out. I don't know too much about the specifics, but Derek said—"

"Hold up." Stiles stopped her. "Why are you talking to the psycho wolf who bit Scott?"

Cassie sighed, she'd known this would come up at some point. "Derek did not bite Scott. First off, you have to be an Alpha to turn someone and Derek is just a Beta. Secondly, I have known Derek for a long time, he's like a brother to me. I'm not going to stop talking to him just because you don't like him."

Scott stared at her, "I still can't get over how much you know about all of this."

She felt her cheeks beginning to warm under his gaze and she hurriedly looked away. "As I was saying," she began, resuming her lecture. "There is something that can keep you human and stop you from transforming. Derek calls it an anchor, it's basically something that connects you to your humanity." She fiddled with the cord on her headphones, she still wasn't entirely comfortable talking about the supernatural with them. "I don't know more than that, because he always got grumpy when I asked."

Scott and Stiles nodded. However, their faces froze halfway through. She clicked her mouse a few times but nothing happened. She leaned back in her chair, cursing her family's slow internet.

However, something on the screen caught her eye and made her lean in just as fast. What looked a figure standing in the shadows behind Scott. She relaxed however when she recognized the familiar leather jacket. _Derek._ Being a drama queen as usual. She closed the laptop, not ready to deal with whatever drama he was going to unleash on Scott.

Her head was buzzing with the action-packed events of the night before. She needed to clear her head. Deciding a run was her best option, she grabbed her sneakers off the floor. She knew it was late, but she wasn't very worried. As long as she stayed out of the woods she'd be fine.

She opened her window softly, remembering Stiles knocking on it the week before. So much had happened since then. The tree was easy to climb, she'd been sneaking down it for years. Mostly to jog, occasionally to see Scott and Stiles or even Derek.

Her feet hit the ground and she took off like a shot. Music blasted in her ears, louder than her buzzing thoughts. She smiled to herself, picking up speed. She knew she shouldn't push it, anyone could be watching and she was close to going over what a human could run. But it felt so nice to just let loose, so she allowed herself not to care for a minute.

She turned toward the woods, she knew she shouldn't. There could be hunters about, but there was something she needed to do. Something that she hoped might make her feel a little better.

She was at Derek's house before she knew it. She didn't make much noise. She veered away from the door to the patches of Earth behind the house. There was a gathering of wildflowers spread out among the patches.

She stopped before one in particular, and let her hand trace the _C. H._ on the tombstone.

 _Cora Hale_  
 _Beloved daughter and sister_   
_"The sweetest things are gone the quickest."_

Cassie hadn't been here since before Laura died, but her conversation with Deaton had stirred some old memories.

She began speaking to the stone in front of her. "Hey, Cora." She wiped her watery eyes, "I know I haven't been here in a bit, but I guess I missed you too much to stay away. You always did say that was part of your charm." The tears fell freely now. "God, you were the sassiest fourth grader I've ever met." She sniffled, wiping a tear from her cheek hastily. "There's some crazy stuff happening in town and I guess I needed to talk to my best friend about it. I hope you and Laura had a nice reunion." She almost smiled at the thought.

She stood up quickly, trying to stem the flow of tears. But she'd opened the floodgates and they didn't seem to be stopping.

A snapped twig behind her made her glance up uncertainly, worried she was about to be ambushed by hunters. Instead, it was simply Derek, standing on the back porch watching. If the tears in his eyes were any indication he'd heard every word she said.

"Hi, Derek." She called uncertainly. It wasn't her place to dredge up painful memories of his family. But he stepped toward her and she took that as permission, she nearly leaped into him. The hug was iron tight on both sides as they wept. It felt nice to just...cry. To let the years of sadness out with someone who understood.

Eventually, Derek spoke, "I was going to see Uncle Peter for a bit. Do you want to come?"

She nodded. Both eager to see Peter and unwilling to leave Derek's comfort. They could've easily taken his car and been there in minutes, but it was a nice night for a walk and that was exactly what they needed.

There weren't any words to be said as they walked, and nothing needed to be said. Just an understanding silence that stretched for miles.

Beacon Hills Memorial was operating on a skeleton crew when they arrived. The nurse on duty waved them down the hall without a word, they'd visited so many times she knew them.

Peter's door was two down on the left. Plain and brown like all the others. It creaked open softly as they entered.

Peter sat in his wheelchair, gazing absently out the window. Just as he'd done everyday for the previous six years. A knit blanket covered his legs.

Even after all this time it was still hard to see Peter, who had always for better or worse been a very loud wild person, reduced to this shell. She let Derek speak first, Peter was family to them both, but it didn't feel right for her to talk to him first.

Derek knelt down gently and grasped his uncle's hand, hoping, just he did each time, for a response that wouldn't come.

"There are hunters in town, and I really wish you could help me kick their asses." He squeezed his uncle's hand hopefully, before reaching into a pocket. "I found this, when I cleaning." Derek dropped a ring into Peter's hand that Cassie immediately recognized as Talia's. A simple gold band with wolf paws carved into it, Cassie has never seen Talia without it. It sent a jolt through her to think Talia would never wear it again. "I know you always teased mom about how cheesy it was but I thought you'd like to have it now." Derek stood up wiping a bit of dust out of his eye.

Cassie stepped forward once it was clear that Derek has finished. "Hi, Uncle Peter." He'd always insisted that she call him that, even though he wasn't much older than Derek. "I'm sorry I haven't come to visit you in a while. You would not believe how crazy things have gotten. There's an alpha running around biting teenagers." She paused trying to think of what to say next. There was so much she wanted to tell him, but what was it worth if he couldn't say anything back.

Finally she said, "we visited Cora today. There was a rose growing next to her, and I remember when you used to help her weave roses into little crowns. They pricked your fingers so bad you looked like a mummy, but you said you didn't care because she looked so happy with that crown."

Derek smiled at her, recalling the memory as well. _Gone but not forgotten._ They'd never be forgotten, but perhaps they could focus on the happy memories.

They stayed with Peter a little while longer, telling him random facts about their lives. If she closed her eyes as she listened to Derek laugh she could almost pretend that they were back in the house, before it burned down and everyone was smiling and _alive._

When Cassie finally clambered back through the window she'd been gone a good three hours. She felt wonderful, much of the overwhelmed feeling that had plagued her earlier with Scott and Stiles had vanished.

She went to bed that night and dreamt of her family.

_Her parents were there and so were Peter and Derek and Cora and Talia and Laura. Even Scott and Stiles were there, laughing and joking. The old Hale house was magnificent once more as though the fire never happened._

_The yard was full of laughter and children, as the sun sprinkled down through the trees. Cora was older than she'd ever been, a teenager, running around with Cassie as they played tag. Just like the old days._

_It was perfect._

Cassie woke up with tear tracks on her face, but ultimately, it had made her happy to see them again.

She rolled out of bed quietly and got dressed, splashing her face with water until her eyes looked less red. She grabbed her bag and headed out the door, intending to get an early start. She nearly ran into her dad, who'd been waiting outside her door.

"Dad?" She questioned, unsure how to proceed.

He sighed, "you really shouldn't be sneaking out of your window in the middle of the night." He pinched his brow, choosing his next words. "You're lucky that your mom is a deep sleeper."

"Sleeps like the dead." Cassie joked, trying to lighten the mood. Her father frowned. "Relax, Dad, I went with Derek to see Uncle Peter."

His demeanor loosened considerably, her parents trusted Derek like a son. He nodded, "just next time you visit him. Do it during the day, okay?"

She nodded. Not completely agreeing, but that was definitely the response he wanted. "Thought that I'd jog to school this morning," Cassie bent down to grab the tennis shoes she'd left by the door.

"Alright. Just don't jog too fast."

She rolled her eyes, "I know, Dad. _Fast, but not too fast_." Cassie was mocking the words he'd said to her a million times. "Thank god I didn't go out for track, you'd spend the whole time sitting in the stands wringing your hands and forget to cheer."

Her dad laughed, but his eyes were sad. "You know I wish you didn't have to hide."

"I know, Dad." This time there was no accompanying eye-roll when she spoke. "Maybe someday."

She gave him a one-armed hug, and slipped out the door.

She didn't entirely head her dad's advice, and definitely ran faster than she should've. Cassie made sure no one was around before taking a sprinting short cut through the woods.

She arrived at school about half an hour early and set down on a bench with a book to wait for Scott and Stiles.

"You look awful," Stiles said in greeting as he tapped her on the shoulder to get her attention.

"Thanks," she responded snippily. "I try."

"Are you ok?" Scott asked, always more tactful than Stiles.

She smiled at him, "yeah. I'm ok. Just had a long night."

Stiles raised an eyebrow and Scott's cheeks turned pink.

"Not like _that!_ " She exclaimed as she realized what they were thinking. "I...went to visit a friend."

Stiles nodded disbelievingly at her lackluster explanation, but let the subject drop.

"What did Derek want last night anyway?" If they were surprised she knew Derek had visited, it didn't show. She hadn't wanted to delve back into the drama last night so she hadn't asked Derek. Now, however, in the calmer less stressful light of day she figured she ought to know after all.

"He doesn't want me to play the game on Saturday," Scott muttered dejectedly.

Cassie resisted the urge to comfort him, this was a point that needed to be driven home. "He's right. Like I was saying last night, lacrosse is just going to make it worse."

"As the flimsy human who was almost a wolfy entreè yesterday, I'm with Cassie on this." Stiles added, unhelpfully.

Scott shrunk in on himself a bit under the dual assault, and Cassie couldn't resist the urge to comfort him this time.

"Look, I know you love to play lacrosse, even if you suck."

"Hey," Scott protested weakly, but it was the moment of levity they all needed, as a smile spread around the group.

"But you have to understand how dangerous this is. These hunters aren't cops who will wait until you do something wrong to come for you, they will attack you if they know who you are." She reached out and grabbed Scott's hand. "So please, at least for now, keep your head down."

Scott nodded reluctantly.

Stiles clapped them both on the back, breaking the mounting tension. "What do you bet Mr. Harris makes someone cry today?"

Cassie was grateful for his attempt at humor, she gave him a playful shove. "Judging by that incomplete homework in your hand, I'm guessing you, Stilinski."

Stiles shoved the papers into a pocket of his bag. "I was busy last night."

"Doing what?" Scott asked, "we're your only friends."

Stiles rolled his eyes, "I know that, doofus. I was researching your _condition._ "

"Is it so much harder to ask me?" Cassie asked. She wasn't sure why she was so indignant. It wasn't as though she _wanted_ to talk about this stuff with them, but the fact that he hadn't trusted her to answer his questions stung.

Stiles shrugged, only half apologetic. "You fell off the grid last night and I had a couple more questions."

As they came back around to the earlier topic, she could see that Stiles was still curious what she'd been doing. So she stalled his question with a misdirect.

"Is that Lydia?" She asked, pointing out into the school parking lot behind Stiles.

Sure enough there was Beacon Hills' resident mean girl driving up in a baby blue car. Stiles was practically drooling before Lydia stepped onto the sidewalk.

"Hi, Lydia." Stiles said, trying to appear confident as she walked by. As she had everyday for years, Lydia walked right by without a single sign of acknowledgement.

 _A swing and a miss_. Cassie cringed internally, even though at this point they'd all known the strikeout was coming.

"Let's see what fresh hell Harris has planned for us today." She looped an arm through each of the boys and lead them towards the school.


End file.
